Demarcating quality improvement mechanisms in fresh yellow alkaline noodles: Insights into water-solid interaction, gluten network development, and starch properties during noodles resting

Abstract

This work explored, for the first time, the impact of noodles resting on the edible quality of fresh yellow alkaline noodles and demonstrated the promotion mechanism through analysis of physicochemical properties of principal components and microstructure of the noodles. According to the results, after resting for 18 h, fresh noodles exhibited reduced cooking loss and incresed water absorption. The chewiness and hardness of cooked noodles increased by 40.34% and 18.52%, respectively. An increase in the proportion of weakly bound water in the rested noodles was observed. indicating a more even distribution of moisture in noodles. Furthermore, a stronger gluten network structure and more organized secondary structure of gluten proteins were noted. The analysis of gluten network microstructure revealed a shorter average gluten network length, average protein width, higher branching rate, and lower terminal rate. Additionally, a higher peak viscosity of starch was found in the rested noodles.